July 2015 Dundee sex offender convicted of attacking a child has had his sentence cut Connor Tait had his case heard at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh today, and the judges ruled that part of his sexual assault conviction could not be allowed to stand. 22-year-old Tait was found guilty of the 2013 incident, where he sexually assaulted a child who was walking home, following a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court last year. He was sentenced to four years in jail and a further four years of supervision after his release. Following today’s appeal of his conviction and sentence, his jail sentence was cut to three and a half years, but the supervision will remain the same. The three appeal judges ruled that the original conviction should be quashed and replaced by one which deleted an aggravation to the sexual assault on the child due to the fact that there was no corroboration for parts of the attack specified in the charge. September 2014 Twice convicted pervert jailed for sexually assaulting 11 year old A paedophile who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old schoolboy who was out playing football with his pal has been handed an eight-year extended sentence. However Connor Tait, who is from Dundee, could be back on the streets in just 10 months time under the terms of his sentence, which contained a custodial period of four years. Tait had twice previously been convicted of sexual offences against young boys. The 22-year-old has already spent 14 months on remand, firstly in Barlinnie Prison and latterly in Carstairs, being assessed by clinical psychologists, that was backdated to July last year when he was first arrested. Under the legislation, convicted criminals are eligible for release after serving half their sentence, which could see him being set free in July, 2015, if the parole board believes he is suitable for release. Sheriff Richard Davidson also placed him on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period and banned him from working with children and protected adults. The mother of the victim, who is now 13, said she was “very disappointed” with the sentence and branded Tait “an animal.” Sentencing Tait, Sheriff Davidson, who had returned from his new post at Fort William Sheriff Court said: “You were convicted after trial of one of the most horrible crimes I have had to deal with in the course of almost 20 years of sitting here.” He said psychologists had come to the conclusion that Tait was not suffering from a mental illness nor from learning difficulties and that his “odd presentation” had been as a consequence of his drug and alcohol abuse. Tait pounced on the terrified young victim and his friend as they played outside at a grassy area near their homes in Menzieshill, while on bail, on July 4, 2013. His friend managed to escape and alert his parents and the police arrested Tait within hours. The parents of the boys say they still won’t go out on their own, even to the park, and have lost all their confidence. February 2014 Paedophile who abused 11 yr old boy sent to Carstairs psychiatric hospital Dundee paedophile Connor Tait has been sent to the state hospital at Carstairs following a “psychological episode” in prison. Tait, 21, was found guilty by a jury at Dundee Sheriff Court in November of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy. He pounced on the victim and his friend as they played outside on July 4. He hid in a bush before jumping out, grabbing and sexually touching one of them while his terrified friend ran to raise the alarm. Tait, who has two previous convictions for sexual offences against young boys, was branded “disturbed” by Sheriff Richard Davidson who warned him he could be sent to the High Court for sentencing. On Tuesday, Tait’s solicitor Paul Parker Smith told Dundee Sheriff Court his mental health had deteriorated since being in Barlinnie Prison. He said: “On January 30 Sheriff Davidson deferred sentence for reports from the Learning Disability Services.” Mr Parker Smith said the doctor had visited Tait, whose mental health was “giving cause for concern”. Mr Parker Smith’s colleague Mike Short had also seen Tait in prison. “Mr Short noted a marked deterioration in terms of Mr Tait’s mental health,” he said. “Mr Short found Mr Tait distracted and unable to focus and unable to give meaningful instruction. He did not like Barlinnie one little bit.” Sheriff Elizabeth Munro said there had been a distinct possibility that Tait would be remitted to the High Court for sentencing. She made a treatment order committing him to Carstairs State Hospital and deferred sentence for four weeks. “We will ask for an update from Carstairs,” she said. “Mr Tait seems to have had a psychological episode and the sooner we get him to state hospital the better.” Tait had denied the charges against him and claimed at the time of the offence he had been at home watching Hollyoaks. Sheriff Davidson had previously said there was an “extremely high risk” of a similar offence if Tait remained at liberty. He had told Tait: “You committed a horrendous crime on July 4 when you attacked an 11-year-old boy in a public place. “He was a complete stranger and he was terrified, so was his young friend.” He added: “It’s not the first occasion when you have given rise to concerns about your sexual behaviour. “Various things have been tried to deal with you in the past without success. “You have been straightforward to the psychologist about your interest in young boys, which gives me great concern. “You were subject to monitoring at the time of the offence, which causes me even more concern. “I am of the opinion that you require the tight and strict order of life-long supervision.” Sentence was deferred to March 25 for reports from Carstairs. January 2014 Sheriff blasts monitoring of sex offender who assaulted boy A 21-year-old man who sexually assaulted a boy as he walked home from football training was told he faces a life sentence as a sheriff blasted the monitoring of the repeat offender. Connor Tait struck his innocent 11-year-old victim, who he picked completely at random, on a grassy area in Dixon Avenue, Dundee. He hid in a bush before jumping out and grabbing and sexually touching the boy. Tait, who has two previous convictions for sexual offences against young boys, was told that his case is set to be remitted to the High Court for sentencing. Sheriff Richard Davidson told him he felt there was no other way to “protect the public from you other than with an order for lifelong restriction”. His victim’s family said they were “delighted” that Tait faces a long term behind bars and being monitored for the rest of his life. But they said the “system failed them” – with Sheriff Davidson saying it was “concerning” that Tait, who was on the sex offender’s register and subject to monitoring at the time, had been free to abuse drink and drugs before committing the attack. At his trial Tait claimed he had been at home watching Hollyoaks at the time of the offence and denied the charges.That forced the boy and his friend who he had been playing with to come to court and give harrowing evidence via video link. The court heart that at the time he was wearing fake tan, was wearing eye liner and earrings and had purple or red hair.When police arrived at his house he was putting on more fake tan. The descriptions given by the boys were described as “very good” with police immediately going to Tait’s address and arresting him within two hours of the attack. Fiscal depute Trina Sinclair said: “Tait had walked past the boys and then disappeared from view before he came out of a bush and grabbed the victim from behind.” Reading a victim impact statement to the court, Miss Sinclair added: “His victim says he is afraid of going out and doesn’t like people walking behind him. “He says he has lost his confidence and won’t do outdoor activities he used to enjoy.” When he was convicted at a trial last year Tait burst into tears and screamed “Dad, Dad” as prison guards handcuffed him and led him away. His father shouted: “You’ll get out on appeal son – this is full of s***.” Tait, 21, a prisoner at HMP Perth, was convicted after a jury trial of sexually assaulting the boy on July 4 this year. Mike Short, defending, said: “He understands that given the finding of the jury that an order to protect the public will be made – and that he faces a long time in prison.” Sheriff Richard Davidson deferred sentence until March for further reports to be prepared before he sends the case to the High Court for final sentencing. He said: “You committed a horrendous offence on July 4 last year when you attacked an 11-year-old boy in a public place. “He was a complete stranger to you and he was terrified by what took place. “You have indicated in these reports that you have an interest in young boys. “At the time you were supposed to be subject of monitoring and the fact you were able to drink and take drugs and commit this offence is concerning. “Be very clear, you are looking at years in custody.” Tait, who appeared in the dock wearing a t-shirt that read “Eat, drink, rave, repeat” showed no emotion as he was led to the cells. Outside court the family of Tait’s victim said they were “delighted” that he faced a long jail term and lifelong monitoring. One family member, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, said: “It is what we were hoping for.”We’re glad the sheriff has dealt with it the way he has. “I just hope that when it goes to the High Court he gets a long time.”I hope he rots in hell.”He was being monitored at the time – but the system failed us. “No sentence will ever be enough for us but it’s better than what we thought he would get.” November 2013 Mum says Dundee court pressures left victims feeling like the criminals Dundee Sheriff Court pictured above A Dundee mum has hit out at justice officials, claiming prosecutors bungled by granting a convicted sex offender his freedom as he awaited trial for attacking a young boy. The angry mum said 21-year-old sexual predator Connor Tait was granted bail and was free to roam the court building while his 11-year-old victim was “hidden away in witness rooms for hours” to avoid bumping into the pervert before and during his trial. The woman, whose 11-year-old son was a witness to the attack on his friend, was also critical of the Sheriff Court Service, claiming the two families were being “treated like criminals” as they had to be “sneaked in and out” of fire exits and private rooms while Tait “came and went as he pleased”. Tait, who had twice previously been convicted of sexual offences against young boys, was eventually remanded in custody during the trial before being unanimously found guilty last Monday of sexually assaulting his victim. The boys’ ordeal was “doubled” according to Sheriff Richard Davidson by Tait’s denials of his guilt, which resulted in them being forced to give evidence at the court. The mother of the victim’s friend said she was sickened by their experience in court, saying she felt the Crown had failed the families by not calling the case sooner. She said: “The timebar (meaning the end of the 110-day period when Tait could legally be held in custody) came up before the trial was started and the Crown applied for an extension, but the sheriff said no, so he had to be bailed. “I saw in The Courier that another sheriff refused three or four extensions the Crown asked for as well, so they’re obviously putting too many cases to court too late. “The Crown must have known there was a danger of that happening because there were two other jury trials running at the same time, one of them was predicted to last for three to four weeks. “We were told the trial was starting, then it was cancelled, then it was on, then it was cancelled again. This went on all week and it wasn’t until the Wednesday afternoon it started. “These are two young boys, we were having to deal with their schools, telling them they would be in, then they wouldn’t be in, then they would, we were having to arrange days off work, then changing it. It was just ridiculous. “And we were kept in these rooms for hours on end, having to go to certain toilets and being sneaked in and out of fire escape doors, so they wouldn’t have to bump into the person who attacked him. “We just felt like we were the criminals instead of him, while he was allowed to wander about like he’s done nothing wrong.” Last week, Sheriff Tom Hughes accused the Crown office of “loading the courts up” and then asking for timebar extensions, adding: “There is a systemic failure on the part of the Crown to deal with cases in an expeditious manner.” Solicitor advocate Jim Laverty, president of the Dundee Bar Association, said: “We have witnessed an explosion of solemn prosecutions in the last five years without the appropriate resources put in place to ensure fairness to all interested parties and the proper administration of justice. “There has been no investment in extra courts or sheriffs or prosecutors to deal with the Government’s next great legislative idea to beat crime — in fact the explosion in prosecutions mirrors the diminution in resources — less procurator fiscals and support staff, soon to be court closures and a reduction in sheriffs. “The Government and in particular the justice secretary needs to get a grip on this.” A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “COPFS works closely with the Scottish Court Service to ensure that there is appropriate court time available to deal with criminal business. “The scheduling of trials is not an exact science and from time to time trials run longer than expected. We understand the concerns of the family and would be happy to meet with them again to discuss any concerns they may have.” November 2013 Man sexually assaulted boy while he played outside with friend A 21-year-old who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old boy as he played with his friends outside on a hot summer’s day was jailed on Monday. A jury at Dundee Sheriff Court found Connor Tait guilty of the attack on July 4 this year. Tait struck as his innocent victim, picked completely at random, played with a friend on a grassy area in Dundee. He hid in a bush before jumping out, grabbing and sexually touching the boy. Tait, who has two previous convictions for sexual offences against young boys, was branded “disturbed” by a sheriff. Tait claimed he had been at home watching Hollyoaks at the time of the offence and denied the charges.That forced the boy and his friend who he had been playing with to come to court and give evidence via video link. The court heard that at the time he was wearing fake tan, eye liner and earrings and had purple or red hair. When police arrived at his house he was putting on more fake tan. The descriptions given by the boys were described as “very good”, with police immediately going to Tait’s address and arresting him within two hours of the attack. Fiscal depute Trina Sinclair said: “Tait had walked past the boys and then disappeared from view before he came out of a bush and grabbed the victim from behind.” Reading a victim impact statement to the court, Miss Sinclair added: “His victim says he is afraid of going out and doesn’t like people walking behind him. He says he has lost his confidence and won’t do outdoor activities he used to enjoy.” Tait burst into tears and screamed “Dad, Dad” as prison guards handcuffed him and led him away. His father shouted: “You’ll get out on appeal son – this is full of s***.” The victim’s family, sat a row behind Tait’s father, broke down as he was led to the cells. Tait, a prisoner at HMP Perth, was convicted after a jury trial of sexually assaulting the boy on July 4 this year. Paul Parker-Smith, defending, said: “He turned 21 during a period of remand in relation to this case. He has been on remand for a total of 120 days. He has previously had community based disposals that were not complied with.” Sheriff Richard Davidson deferred sentence for reports until next month.He said: “You have put two families through a considerable agony. You are a seriously disturbed young man and before I can properly decide what the right thing to do with you is I need professional reports. He added: “You may take it from me that in the end you will be separated from the community for a considerable period of time.”